


a sliver of doubt

by izabellwit



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Episode: s03e13 Cassandra's Revenge, Friends to Enemies, Gen, Kinda, Possible Character Death, Prompt Fic, Varian Has Issues (Disney), its up in the air tbh, varian @ danger: okay okay okay I can use this somehow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:00:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23482051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/izabellwit/pseuds/izabellwit
Summary: Fic Request: A twist on the Cass & Varian parts of Cass' Revenge? You could be super angsty with the kidnapping scene or the 'tell me the third incantation' bit, or heck, hurt/comfort up in the tower? :>
Relationships: Cassandra & Varian (Disney: Tangled)
Comments: 39
Kudos: 284





	a sliver of doubt

**Author's Note:**

> Writer's block has inspired me to open up prompts, and this was one of them!! This was very fun to write, though I struggled a bit on where to go with it. Still, I've always wondered... if Varian ever decided words wouldn't work at convincing Cassandra she was on the wrong path, how else would he try to convince her?
> 
> Also I suspect the boy has way too much of a self-sacrificing streak. I feel like Varian thinks the only way he make up for his mistakes is to risk his life to fix them, which, no, don't, STOP
> 
> Anyway, hope you guys enjoy!! 😄

“You know,” Varian says, as Cassandra shoves him up the tower, forcing him to walk up and up and up those spiraling steps. “Usually, um, when someone is—trying to get revenge, you know—they have a reason?”

The world is spinning before his eyes, and his breath feels sickly and sticky—the truth serum is sweet, all the better for baking, but on its own it’s almost _too_ sweet, like he’s drunk solid sugary syrup and now the aftertaste is clinging to his tongue. It’s gross. Still an ingenious invention that Varian is very proud of because _hell yeah, chemistry,_ but also—yuck. 

“Shut up,” says Cassandra, and a rock pokes his back in warning. _Keep walking,_ that’s what that means, and something about that grits at his teeth. She’s been short and curt the whole damn time—one-word orders, cold demands, chilling smiles and taunts. It’s gone right past frightening to just plain _annoying,_ and Varian cranes back his neck, eyes narrowed, trying to catch her gaze. 

“No, really,” he says, suddenly sharp. “I’m not kidding. Why are you doing this? All this? What’s it for?”

“Nothing _you_ need to know,” Cassandra says. Something curls at her lip. “Hasn’t Rapunzel told you already, anyhow?”

“You’re kidnapping me,” Varian reminds her. “It’s definitely my business _now,_ thanks.” And as for that second bit— “She did. I heard Rapunzel’s side.” He takes a chance, turns on his heels, forcing them both to a stop on the steps. He meets her eyes and lifts his chin. “Now I’m asking for yours.”

Cassandra stops too, looking up the steps; her eyes flash, and she looks momentarily furious—stops, and looks away. She stares off into the distance and her jaw clenches. She seems torn— caught between Varian’s offer and some other, quieter whisper, some urge to ignore all he says and just keep going.

“You think I wouldn’t understand?” Varian asks, suddenly desperate, suddenly afraid. There is a sense of—of being caught, here, of a thread fraying thin and worn between them, and if he doesn’t reach her here then he will never reach her again. His voice rises, incredulous. “ _Me?”_

Something in his tone must hit true, because she almost seems to smile—a reluctant twitch of the lips, an almost-acknowledgment of the irony. Cassandra’s eyes turn to him. “It’s not revenge,” she says, sudden and clear and sure. “It’s just… taking back what should have been mine in the first place.”

“And… what’s that?” 

Her eyes narrow. “A destiny.”

“…Right.” Varian feels unsettled, off-guard. He doesn’t—he doesn’t understand that. What she’s saying, why she’s saying it like that. He was there for the fight in the tunnels— he saw what she did to keep Rapunzel occupied and to spirit Varian away. That… _wasn’t_ revenge? That wasn’t anger?

 _You almost killed us,_ he thinks, and gets the sudden sense that he is out of his depth. But he knows better than to say that. So he says instead, quietly— “And… how are you planning to do that?”

“Easy.” Cassandra’s chin lifts. Her hand brushes by her heart— the shining blue-white gem. “When Rapunzel comes for you…”

She’s going to fight, Varian realizes, with sudden horror and even deeper, awful understanding. She’s _seeking_ a fight. And it’s awful, because this, _this_ Varian does understand—hurting, and taking, and drawing blood for no reason other than the feeling you deserve a little payback. But he also knows how this story ends. Cassandra is throwing everything away, everything she has left to lose, and in the end she’ll gain nothing at all.

“You… you’re going to kill Rapunzel.”

“If she forces me too.” 

He says nothing to that. He has nothing at all to say to that. He keeps walking, cold all the way to his bones, and Cassandra walks beside him now, ahead of him, her head raised and eyes set. 

He understands now. He knows what this is. Varian’s a hostage. He’s the bait. And it burns low and dark and furious in his chest, like a bitter pill he cannot swallow, and Varian looks at Cassandra’s back and thinks— it doesn’t even hurt her.

The idea of fighting Rapunzel. Of hurting her friends. She’s so convinced she’s right that nothing else will shake her out of it. 

Varian knows that mindset. Varian knows that certainty. And he remembers, sudden and cold, the way that certainty crumbled. Bit by bit. Little by little. Crushed down into pieces with every doubt that festered in his mind. 

He doesn’t have time to convince Cassandra slowly. 

“It’s almost over, Varian,” Cassandra says, and it’s almost as though she’s trying to sound comforting. “You get it, right?”

“Yeah,” Varian says. His voice is very soft. He keeps his eyes on her back, and already can feel his heart sink. The truth serum on his tongue tastes sweet and sickly. 

“I get it,” Varian says, and then he smiles. His hands tremble and then still. Rapunzel stopped him, once, months ago, from sacrificing himself for Corona. But Rapunzel isn’t here now. And while Cassandra’s choices aren’t Varian’s responsibility…

Home, he thinks. Dad. Old Corona. Rapunzel and all the others. 

If he can inspire even the slightest doubt, if he can crumble that certainty even a little— then finally, Varian knows, he’ll have done something right.

“Hey, Cass? Did you know the truth serum lasts for almost a few hours? Fun fact!”

Her eyes flash back at him. She scowls. “Don’t call me—”

“I just want you to know that,” Varian says. “I want you to know this is true.”

“The hell are you talking about?”

Here’s the problem with kidnapping Varian. Because he wants to do better. Because Varian _wants_ to be kind. But once upon a time Varian was angry, and he hurt people— and as much as he hates it, he still remembers how to do it.

“You almost killed us, earlier,” Varian says, calm. “You almost killed Eugene, and Lance, and Pascal, and Rapunzel.”

“I didn’t—”

“And even if I _do_ survive _this_ ,” Varian continues, ignoring her. “I want you to know that you almost killed me too. Because I didn’t have to do this.” He smiles. It’s shaky. “But you’re scaring me, Cass. And you forced me to. You _made_ me choose this.” The smile drops. “You _monster_.”

And before Cassandra can react, before she can speak or startle or do anything else other than go pale around the eyes, Varian steps back off the staircase into open air, and lets himself drop.

**Author's Note:**

> [If you wanna rec this fic, you can reblog it here!!](https://izaswritings.tumblr.com/post/614497168595779584/a-twist-on-the-cass-varian-parts-of-cass) Also, if you have any questions or just want to talk, [my tumblr](http://izaswritings.tumblr.com) is always open!!
> 
> Any thoughts?


End file.
